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  Discussion on Not sure-pancreatitis?????
Author Message
Member:
Gwen

Posted on Thursday, Apr 27, 2006 - 4:23 pm:

Does anyone have any knowledge of pancreatitis (SP) in horses? My friend has a pony who is in pretty bad shape, and as they try to sort out what is wrong with him, this term has come up. I understand that we are supposed to only discuss our own animals, but she really could use some support here. ANyway, he lived with me at ONE TIME! Thanks for any help! I couldn't find anything on my own!
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Apr 28, 2006 - 7:10 am:

Gwen you misunderstand my position, you can talk about anything on these boards. However I find that doing consults third hand problematic and have made a decision not to. The two biggest, though not the only, problems are the limited amount of time I have to devote to these boards and the generally poor result of receiving information 3rd hand. My best advice for your friend is that if she is not confident with the advice she is getting to get a second opinion.

Concerning pancreatitis in horses this is a rare diagnosis in horses and there seem to be 2 recurrent reasons:

Aust Vet J. 2004 Oct;82(10):619-21.
Acute necrotising pancreatitis following grain overload in a donkey.
Kawaguchi K, Church S, Slocombe RF.
University of Melbourne, 250 Princes Highway, Werribee, Victoria 3030.
A donkey developed abdominal discomfort and distension together with cardiovascular collapse and gastric reflux 24 to 36 hours after ingesting a large amount of poultry feed. Rectal findings prompted a laparotomy that identified extensive gastric dilation, an empty, atonic small intestine, dry colonic content and an easily corrected caecal displacement. These findings were not consistent with the severity of the signs, which were attributed to endotoxaemia. The donkey was euthanased during recovery. Necropsy revealed acute necrotising pancreatitis with massive gastric dilation and right dorsal colon impaction. The clinicopathological features of acute equine pancreatitis associated with grain overload are discussed.

J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1985 Apr 15;186(8):809-11.
Chronic eosinophilic pancreatitis and ulcerative colitis in a horse.
Breider MA, Kiely RG, Edwards JF.
A generalized debilitating disease in a horse was believed to be related to hypersensitivity to migrating strongyle larvae. The clinical signs included weight loss, diarrhea, and ulcers on all 4 coronary bands. The mare's condition deteriorated rapidly, so the mare was euthanatized and necropsied. The major histopathologic findings were chronic multifocal eosinophilic pancreatitis, hepatic portal fibrosis, biliary hyperplasia, and chronic ulcerative eosinophilic colitis. This case was similar to previously reported cases of chronic eosinophilic gastroenteritis in horses. Although the etiologic agent was not evident, the distribution and character of the lesions were consistent with a hypersensitivity response to migrating parasitic larvae, most probably Strongylus equinus.

DrO
Member:
Gwen

Posted on Friday, Apr 28, 2006 - 10:59 am:

Thanks DR. O. My friend is not necessarily second-guessing the diagnosis, it is more that they are not 100% sure if that is all they are dealing with. It is a very unique case according to the doctors.
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